Augustine reiterates the classical depiction of the common filial bond in a father's attitude toward his son, saying, "Surely what Cicero says comes straight from the heart of all fathers, when he wrote: 'You are the only man of all men whom I would wish to surpass me in all things'." So much of what Gardner does in Pursuit is aimed at the welfare and betterment of his own child. Thus, he tells young Chris, "You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."
The Pursuit of Happyness is well worth seeing, as a life lesson in the value of hard work and devotion to family. The series of pitfalls and the breathless, stressful, non-stop pace with which Gardner seeks to overcome these challenges underscores the nature of the pursuit of happiness in this world:
It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, and our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and I remember thinking, "How did he know to put the pursuit part in there?" That maybe happiness is something we can only pursue, and maybe actually we can never have it, no matter what. How did he know that?The spiritual realities that are implicit in the film but come through in the real life story of Chris Gardner, who has manifested his faith in part through his work with the Glide United Methodist Church in San Francisco, hint at the truth that our happiness is dependent on the orientation of our use of earthly goods toward a reality greater than ourselves. Seeking happiness in only material or transient objects is necessarily a fleeting experience.
Even so, the story of Chris Gardner illustrates the best that is possible within this worldly order, wherein earthly goods enable a measure of peace, while at the same time still pointing to the ultimate peace that is only achievable on the basis of a transcendent divine reality.
Article comments
1 - Kristen
hey there i did not read the book but i seen the movie and it was good. Yeah i have to do a book report and it had to be a non fiction one so i picked this book and i am getting different information! yeah the book is different from the movie. Does anyone now any websites that are good to get a good summary of this book! please i need to help! i really do not want to do this but i do not know what to say!
2 - Grayling Johnson
I was putting off seeing the movie but when I finally seen the movie which my wife had told me several times in day and in my sleep, I was so tearful I could not loook at my kids. I did not want them to see their strong unemotional man tender and humanistic side! Now, will show this movie to my co-workeers at the city and state level in Baltimore Maryland. This movie proved to me that "It is never too late to be what you might have"...George Eliot.